Kazakhstan's cultural landscape reached a significant milestone with the opening of the Almaty Museum of Arts (ALMA) on September 12, marking the country's first private museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Founded by automotive and real estate mogul Nurlan Smagulov, the sleek new institution houses over 700 artworks by Kazakh, Central Asian, and international artists, establishing itself as a cornerstone for the nation's vibrant artistic legacy.
Located in Kazakhstan's largest city and former capital, ALMA presents a striking architectural statement that harmoniously blends modern urbanism with the region's natural beauty. The minimalist structure comprises two interlocking L-shaped buildings, one featuring warm-toned limestone cladding and the other finished in aluminum. The light-filled interior showcases sharp angles and soaring ceilings that echo the majestic Tian Shan Mountains visible just behind the museum.
Under the leadership of artistic director Meruyert Kaliyeva and chief curator Inga Lāce, the museum's permanent collection will be presented through diverse programming including group exhibitions, solo shows, international collaborations, and research projects. "We aim to foster curiosity, dialogue, and global engagement with the cultural wealth of Central Asia," Kaliyeva explained to ARTnews. The institution's primary mission focuses on providing a platform for the region's underrepresented artistic creators while exploring cultural exchange with global audiences and institutions.
The museum's opening program brings together artists spanning multiple generations, from those who established the foundations of modern art in the region during the Soviet era to contemporary creators redefining its future today. Kaliyeva emphasized that the museum is "rooted in local histories while reaching out to global perspectives as a way to build a space where art can be both a reflection and a catalyst for change." The opening exhibitions courageously address artists who began questioning national identity during times when such inquiries could lead to persecution under the Soviet regime.
The inaugural exhibition roster offers visitors an immersive exploration of the local art scene while providing essential context for those encountering Kazakh art for the first time. The centerpiece presentation features the first-ever retrospective of Almaty-born artist Almagul Menlibayeva, whose work Smagulov first acquired 30 years ago. Titled "I Understand Everything," the comprehensive survey examines her four-decade career beginning in the 1980s, showcasing her evolution from painter to photographer after 2010.
Menlibayeva's photographic works explore themes of women, ecology, identity politics, and Central Asian mythology within a post-Soviet, neo-colonial context. Drawing on shamanic symbols, Tengrist cosmology, and imagery of the Steppe, her art attempts to reclaim local culture and establish a place for Kazakh traditions and mythology in modern reality. Her most recent series, featured in the exhibition, combines regional historical sites with women posing as mythological guardians dressed in traditional garb, as seen in "Bodyguards of Yassawi I and II" (2025). These scenes present an almost futuristic quality, with women exuding a robotic stillness that transforms tradition into something uncanny.
ALMA's inaugural group exhibition, "Qonaqtar," provides visitors with insight into the formative years and major movements of the Kazakh art scene. The word "qonaqtar" means "guests" in Kazakh, a concept that guided curator Lāce's approach to the exhibition. "It started with me thinking, yes I'm a curator, but I'm also a guest looking at this collection for the first time, and one thing that leapt out at me as recurring was these scenes of celebration, of coming together, of food, and this idea of hospitality," Lāce told ARTnews. "As a new museum with so many guests visiting not just this institution but also this country for the first time, I thought we too should start with a festive note."
The "Qonaqtar" exhibition delves into themes of hospitality, migration, and political tensions in Central Asia over the past century, spanning the Soviet era through the Golden Era of Kazakh art between the 1960s and 1970s, to the recent post-colonial artistic boom. The exhibition addresses the nuances of an art scene finding its footing while responding to multiple social and political stimuli that reshaped the nation. Lāce explained that the exhibition's aim extends beyond traditional nomadic hospitality concepts, noting that "this country has had a history of guests, of people crossing voluntarily and involuntarily, closely tied to political things happening in the region."
The historical context becomes particularly poignant when examining the dramatic transformation from Kazakhstan's nomadic traditions to Soviet settlement. When the Soviets established control in Kazakhstan during the 19th century, they sought to eradicate traditional nomadic ways of life in favor of controlled centers of economic and social production. During the 1930s, the Kazakh people endured an artificially induced famine caused by the Soviet Union's seizure of cattle and grain in an attempt to force locals away from nomadism, resulting in the death of more than a third of the Kazakh population.
This historical trauma profoundly influenced artistic expression and concepts of hospitality, as reflected in works like Toqbolat Togyzbayev's "Still Life with Flatbread" (1989), which depicts a table set for hosting guests but shows only a few rounds of bread and cucumbers available to be shared. The piece powerfully illustrates how drastically changed circumstances affected traditional concepts of abundance and sharing.
Following the famine, the Soviets implemented further social engineering by displacing other ethnic groups, including Koreans and Uyghurs, to Central Asia. As Lāce explained, "it was a big social engineering project of trying to transform societies. All these people come together, even though it is through awful circumstances, but in a way they are all what make Kazakhstan today because they came with their own portable landscapes, their traditions, or even their style of painting. You have to start to question what Kazakh is after a few generations."
One of the exhibition's most significant works is "Shepherd's Feast" (1965) by Aisha Galymbayeva, Kazakhstan's first professionally trained female artist. Rendered in bright, expressive colors with loose brushwork, Galymbayeva's pastoral scene serves as commentary on how the Soviets would organize festivals related to local culture while simultaneously working to eradicate nomadism. Her other works in the exhibition, including "Bride" (1957) and "White Teapot" (1990), capture moments of traditional rural celebrations that were permitted to continue under Soviet rule.
"The Soviet Union was tricky at that time, they didn't want any kind of political nationalism, but were happy for everyone to have their own national culture at the same time. So some traditions got reinvented and you are allowed to have a little bit of your folklore, but only in a non-political way," Lāce observed. This complex relationship between cultural preservation and political control is further illustrated in Salikhitdin Aitbayev's "On the Virgin Lands. Lunchtime" (1960s), which depicts the Soviet program that displaced thousands to make the Kazakh Steppe arable in an ultimately futile effort.
To provide comprehensive historical context, Lāce has incorporated archival videos throughout the exhibition. For instance, Galymbayeva's utopian painting "Friendship" (1978) is displayed alongside film documentation of the 1973 Afro-Asian Writers Conference held in Almaty. "Writers from both continents were here and in this moment there was a certain kind of decolonial thinking that arose," she explained. The juxtaposition of artworks with their historical context creates a deeper understanding of the complex social and political forces that shaped artistic expression.
Beyond the indoor galleries, ALMA features several specially commissioned outdoor sculptural works by internationally renowned artists including Yinka Shonibare, Alicja Kwade, and Jaume Plensa, strategically placed on public plazas to invite community engagement with the museum. The second floor houses a series of Artist Rooms, currently displaying large-scale works by Anselm Kiefer, an immersive installation by Yayoi Kusama, a multi-channel audiovisual installation by Bill Viola, and a maze-like Cor-Ten steel sculpture by Richard Serra.
ALMA's commitment to international engagement extends far beyond its physical exhibitions through an ambitious program of global partnerships and scholarly initiatives. Next month, the museum will host a two-day program of performances and talks organized in collaboration with the Hyundai Tate Research Centre. The Getty Foundation and New York University will provide grants to scholars from Central Asia researching art histories, while Paris-based nonprofit AWARE will partner with ALMA to conduct research on Kazakh women artists.
"We started with this idea that even if people are not art connoisseurs or not familiar with contemporary art, there would still be something that really speaks to them immediately," Lāce reflected. "For Central Asia, it's a beautiful moment to bring this space to the art scene, because it's all developing so fast, and we hope that ALMA also offers something new, gives some focus and better the creative economy." The museum's opening represents not just a cultural milestone for Kazakhstan, but a significant contribution to the broader understanding and appreciation of Central Asian artistic heritage on the global stage.
